Jennifer Probst: Capitalizing on the elements of passion

Jennifer Probst, author of the new All the Way and the huge reader favorites The Marriage Mistake, The Marriage Trap and The Marriage Bargain, has a way with passion. In the bedroom and out. Here, she explains the way she heightens the passion in other aspects of characters' lives to draw the reader deeper into their stories.

Jennifer: Readers use the adjective "passionate" to describe romance novels in various ways. A hot sex scene, sizzling sexual tension, a feisty argument — all of these elements combined help readers experience passion with our characters, which is key to the book.

But there are other ways of bringing passion to a reader. In All the Way, I use music and food to weave a sensual feast of taste and sound, and layer the story with other elements to increase the overall effect of the story.

Let's look at music. My heroine adores the opera. Sounds stuffy to some? Actually, I use the lush music and story of both La Traviata and Pagliacci to heighten the sexual tension and lure the reader into another world, describing the way it feels when they are seated at the Metropolitan, watching the dramatic story on stage unfold, which mirrors what my hero and heroine are also going through.

I love a story where the author teaches me about an art I don't know too much about, or brings me into certain passions the characters have, whether it be a hobby or a career. I weave the opera theme carefully throughout the structure to keep balance and enhance my characters.

How about food? Ah, the texture and scents and flavors of food in an Italian kitchen are a great way to grab the reader and ground them in the setting. When my heroine is eating what the kitchen prepares, describing the experience will hopefully make a reader hungry. Bringing the act of cooking and preparing food into the love story is a great tool to heighten the communication and show deeper facets of the characters. For example, my hero loses a waiter at a critical time and needs the heroine's help. When she dons her apron and dives headlong into the kitchen, a passion for quality and service comes out, and the characters bond on a new level. Of course, this all ends up in a hot scene on top of the bar ... but that's another type of passion for another article!

I'm able to make my secondary characters pop in the story by using Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack to entwine some humor and lighten the mood. My hero's father has his own Italian posse where they speak in Sinatra-isms, drink, play cards and discuss the Rat Pack. They take these dialogues quite seriously, and even fight to defend their individual opinions. Again, by making this group care about something deeply, a writer can bring a new level of passion to the story that has nothing to do with the physical.

Animals or children are another great way to incorporate this theme. What reader doesn't melt when the hero softens his barriers around a child or his beloved dog? Or turning a heroine into an advocate for animal shelters or rescued wildlife is a great way to bring her alive on the page and show how she cares for something.

Miranda Storme never expected to see Gavin Luciano again. Three years ago, they had an intense affair — and then he bolted. Now he's back, and Miranda has the pleasure of a little payback: a scathing review of his restaurant. Revenge is a dish best served the first chance you get …

And the restaurateur …

With three months to make his family's struggling Italian restaurant successful, a bad review is Gavin's worst nightmare. But this isn't just about the meal. He's finally realized what he left behind and is determined to spend the next eight weeks proving himself to her in the kitchen … and in the bedroom! This is one dish she won't be able to refuse ...